Systems and methods for tokenization, management, trading, settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for tokenization, management, trading, settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes are disclosed. In one embodiment, in an information processing apparatus comprising at least one computer processor, a method for tokenization, management, trading, settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes may include: (1) identifying renewable energy generation data associated with a seller to tokenize; (2) generating at least one renewable energy token for the identified renewable energy generation data; (3) writing the renewable energy token to a first distributed ledger; (4) adding the renewable energy token to a digital wallet for the seller; (5) exchanging the renewable energy token for a cash token owned by a buyer by associating the renewable energy token with the buyer and associating the cash token with the seller on the first distributed ledger; and (6) retiring the renewable energy token.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/929,495 filed Nov. 1, 2019,and is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.62/929,446 filed Nov. 1, 2019. The disclosures of each of thesedocuments is hereby incorporated, by reference, in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

Embodiments generally relate to systems and methods for tokenization,management, trading, settlement, and retirement of renewable energyattributes.

2. Description of the Related Art

Many governments, municipalities, and commercial entities are placinggreater scrutiny on renewable energy generation data, leading toentities not receiving credit for their generation of renewable energy.For example, in order to receive Renewable Energy Credits (REC), theRECs must be certified and retired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Systems and methods for tokenization, management, trading, settlement,and retirement of renewable energy attributes are disclosed. In oneembodiment, in an information processing apparatus comprising at leastone computer processor, a method for tokenization, management, trading,settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes may include:(1) identifying renewable energy generation data associated with aseller to tokenize; (2) generating at least one renewable energy tokenfor the identified renewable energy generation data; (3) writing therenewable energy token to a first distributed ledger; (4) adding therenewable energy token to a digital wallet for the seller; (5)exchanging the renewable energy token for a cash token owned by a buyerby associating the renewable energy token with the buyer and associatingthe cash token with the seller on the first distributed ledger; and (6)retiring the renewable energy token.

In one embodiment, the renewable energy token may be generated for afixed amount of generated renewable energy, for a variable amount ofgenerated renewable energy, etc.

In one embodiment, the renewable energy generation data may be writtento a second distributed ledger.

In one embodiment, the first distributed ledger and the seconddistributed ledger may be the same.

In one embodiment, the step of retiring the renewable energy token mayinclude adding the renewable energy token to a list of retired renewableenergy tokens, or removing the renewable energy token from a list ofactive renewable energy tokens, writing the expiration of the renewableenergy token to the first distributed ledger, etc.

In one embodiment, the step of exchanging the renewable energy token fora cash token owned by a buyer by associating the renewable energy tokenwith the buyer and associating the cash token with the seller on thefirst distributed ledger may include verifying that the renewable energytoken and the cash token are valid.

According to another embodiment, a system for tokenization, management,trading, settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes mayinclude a selling entity comprising a selling entity informationprocessing apparatus selling a renewable energy credit; a buying entitycomprising a buying information processing apparatus buying therenewable energy credit; and a first distributed ledger system in whichthe selling entity and the buying entity are participate as nodes in thedistributed ledger network. The selling entity information processingapparatus may generate at least one renewable energy token for therenewable energy generation data and may write the renewable energytoken to a first distributed ledger. The first distributed ledger systemmay add the renewable energy token to a digital wallet for the sellingentity, my exchange the renewable energy token for a cash token owned bythe buying entity by associating the renewable energy token with thebuying entity and associating the cash token with the selling entity onthe first distributed ledger system, and may retire the renewable energytoken.

In one embodiment, the renewable energy token may be generated for afixed amount of generated renewable energy, a variable amount ofgenerated renewable energy, etc.

In one embodiment, the system may further include a second distributedledger system, and the renewable energy generation data may be writtento the second distributed ledger system.

In one embodiment, the first distributed ledger and the seconddistributed ledger are the same.

In one embodiment, the first distributed ledger system may retire therenewable energy token retires the renewable energy token by adding therenewable energy token to a list of retired renewable energy tokens, orby removing the renewable energy token from a list of active renewableenergy tokens. In another embodiment, the first distributed ledgersystem may retires the renewable energy token may retire the renewableenergy token by writing the expiration of the renewable energy token tothe first distributed ledger system.

In one embodiment, the first distributed ledger system may exchange therenewable energy token for a cash token owned by the buying entity byassociating the renewable energy token with the buying entity andassociating the cash token with the seller on the first distributedledger comprising verifying that the renewable energy token and the cashtoken are valid.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to facilitate a fuller understanding of the present invention,reference is now made to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 discloses a system for tokenization, management, trading,settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes according toone embodiment; and

FIG. 2 depicts a method for tokenization, management, trading,settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes according toone embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Systems and methods for tokenization, management, trading, settlement,and retirement of renewable energy attributes are disclosed.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a system for tokenization, management, trading,settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes is disclosedaccording to one embodiment. System 100 may include a plurality ofentities, such as entity A 110 and entity B 120. In one embodiment, eachentity may manage renewable energy credits and may control a renewableenergy generator, such as solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, etc.

It should be understood that although only two entities are depicted inFIG. 1 , a greater number of entities may be provided as is necessaryand/or desired.

Each entity 110, 120 may participate in distributed ledger network 150and may access its respective copy of the distributed ledger (e.g.,ledger 115, ledger 125) through a node or API. Entities may furtherinclude certification agents or auditors who could validate energygeneration information and renewal energy attributes in real time, viathe provably immutable distributed ledger.

System 100 may further include renewable energy marketplace 130 that mayparticipate as a node in the distributed ledger network using ledger135. Renewable energy marketplace 130 may provide access to non-nodeparticipants in the distributed ledger network using, for example, APIs.

Renewable energy marketplace 130 may facilitate the purchase, sale,and/or exchange of tokens representing renewable energy, such asRenewable Energy Credits (RECs) that are written to distributed ledgernetwork 150. In one embodiment, distributed ledger network 150 mayinclude a separate distributed ledger network (not shown) that may beused to record renewable energy generated by renewable energy generatorsthat may be associated with the one of the entities.

Referring to FIG. 2 , a method for tokenization, management, trading,settlement, and retirement of renewable energy attributes is disclosedaccording to one embodiment.

In step 205, an entity may access a distributed ledger or otherimmutable, verifiable storage system to identify stored renewal energygeneration data. In one embodiment, the entity may have rights to someof the renewal energy that is represented on the distributed ledger. Forexample, the entity may own or control the renewable energy generator,own or control a building associated with the renewable energygenerator, etc.

In another embodiment, the entity may be a service provider, a broker,etc.

In step 210, the system may tokenize or digitize the renewal energywritten to the distributed ledger. For example, the generation of a unitof energy may be recorded to the distributed ledger, in non-fungibleform, which may then output a unique identifier, such as a hash. Thesystem may identify one or more hashes that resides within one or moreblocks and may combine the unique energy data identifiers into a singletoken that can then be traded, exchanged or retired. The system maywrite the token to the same distributed ledger, or to anotherdistributed ledger. This may output a unique identifier, or hashspecific to that token.

In one embodiment, the energy token may include attributes such as thelocation at which the renewable energy was generated, the amount ofenergy produced, the device ID of the device that generated or outputthe energy, a carbon offset amount, whether any of the attributes havebeen claimed, environmental data, weather data, etc.

In one embodiment, the energy tokens may be inextricably linked to theirassociated energy-unit records on the distributed ledger that maintainsrenewable energy production records, such that it can be easily andprovably determined that the energy tokens are definitively andsufficiently backed by energy that has been produced from renewablesources.

In one embodiment, as part of the token generation process, the systemmay confirm that a digital signature on the energy-unit's attributionpayload matches that of the system that is the source of the energyunits. It may then verify whether the attribution is data-complete andotherwise valid. Additionally, it may verify that the renewable energyrecord has not already been recorded, thus preventing the doublecounting of energy. Various static metadata, including identifyinginformation about the system or facility, may also be included alongwith the energy and carbon offset values.

In one embodiment, the distributed ledger may provide permissionedaccess to energy tokens that the entity may hold.

In one embodiment, the energy token may represent the amount ofrenewable energy recorded in one or more blocks, and may be in anysuitable denomination. For example, a single energy token may represent1 mWh (which is redeemable for one renewable energy credit); however,any suitable denomination may be used, including fractions of a mWh.

In step 215, the energy token(s) or partial energy tokens may be addedto a digital wallet for the entity. In one embodiment, the digitalwallet may be maintained on the same distributed ledger, or a differentdistributed ledger.

In step 220, the entity may exchange the energy token(s) in a digitalmarketplace for tokenized cash, cryptocurrency, etc. For example, theentity may buy energy tokens, sell energy tokens, trade energy tokens,or may redeem energy tokens. Each transaction involving the energytoken(s) may be written to a distributed ledger, and the relationshipbetween the unique identifier for the renewable energy is maintained.

The disclosures of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos.62/446,185; 15/869,421; 62/757,614; and Ser. Nos. 16/040,696; and16/653,369 are hereby incorporated, by reference, in their entireties.

In one embodiment, additional checks, such as verifying that the energytokens have not been retired, may be performed before the energytoken(s) may be exchanged. For example, a list of active tokens (e.g., awhitelist), a list of retired tokens (e.g., a blacklist), an entry onthe distributed ledger or on a separate distributed ledger, etc. may bechecked.

In step 225, after the energy tokens are exchanged, an owner of anenergy token may retire the token. In one embodiment, the attributesassociated with the retired energy token, such as the energy produced,carbon offset, etc. may be locked so that they may not be used or tradedagain. Thus, attributes and energy token usage cannot be double counted.

In one embodiment, the energy token may be retired by writing it to alist of retired energy tokens (e.g., a blacklist). In anotherembodiment, energy token may be retired by removing it from a list ofactive energy tokens (e.g., a whitelist). Any other suitable mechanismfor retiring the energy token so that it cannot be used again may beimplemented as is necessary and/or desired.

In step 230, the seller may redeem the cash tokens for fiat cash,cryptocurrency, etc.

When accessing the marketplace, entities may set a price and quantityfor the number of units of a particular type of token (e.g., renewableenergy credit, carbon offset, or other) that they want to buy or sell.Other entities may see those offers and place bids for them. Trading maytake place in a peer-to-peer fashion, with any ownership changes beingrecorded on the distributed ledger.

Buyers of the tokens may validate that the energy token is backed by therequired amount of energy and that that energy has been recorded onceand once only from a validated, authenticated source. The buyer may alsovalidate this information independent of the system through, forexample, a block explorer. The buyer may also validate that the energytoken has not been retired or sold to another party.

Energy tokens may be exchanged for tokenized fiat cash to ensureautomatic and atomic settlement of energy assets for cash. This may takeplace once a buyer has placed a bid for an energy token and the sellerhas accepted that bid, or it may take place at a later point once bothsides of the trade have been satisfied.

Hereinafter, general aspects of implementation of the systems andmethods of the invention will be described.

The system of the invention or portions of the system of the inventionmay be in the form of a “processing machine,” such as a general-purposecomputer, for example. As used herein, the term “processing machine” isto be understood to include at least one processor that uses at leastone memory. The at least one memory stores a set of instructions. Theinstructions may be either permanently or temporarily stored in thememory or memories of the processing machine. The processor executes theinstructions that are stored in the memory or memories in order toprocess data. The set of instructions may include various instructionsthat perform a particular task or tasks, such as those tasks describedabove. Such a set of instructions for performing a particular task maybe characterized as a program, software program, or simply software.

In one embodiment, the processing machine may be a specializedprocessor.

As noted above, the processing machine executes the instructions thatare stored in the memory or memories to process data. This processing ofdata may be in response to commands by a user or users of the processingmachine, in response to previous processing, in response to a request byanother processing machine and/or any other input, for example.

As noted above, the processing machine used to implement the inventionmay be a general-purpose computer. However, the processing machinedescribed above may also utilize any of a wide variety of othertechnologies including a special purpose computer, a computer systemincluding, for example, a microcomputer, mini-computer or mainframe, aprogrammed microprocessor, a micro-controller, a peripheral integratedcircuit element, a CSIC (Customer Specific Integrated Circuit) or ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or other integrated circuit, alogic circuit, a digital signal processor, a programmable logic devicesuch as a FPGA, PLD, PLA or PAL, or any other device or arrangement ofdevices that is capable of implementing the steps of the processes ofthe invention.

The processing machine used to implement the invention may utilize asuitable operating system. Thus, embodiments of the invention mayinclude a processing machine running the iOS operating system, the OS Xoperating system, the Android operating system, the Microsoft Windows™operating systems, the Unix operating system, the Linux operatingsystem, the Xenix operating system, the IBM AIX™ operating system, theHewlett-Packard UX™ operating system, the Novell Netware™ operatingsystem, the Sun Microsystems Solaris™ operating system, the OS/2™operating system, the BeOS™ operating system, the Macintosh operatingsystem, the Apache operating system, an OpenStep™ operating system oranother operating system or platform.

It is appreciated that in order to practice the method of the inventionas described above, it is not necessary that the processors and/or thememories of the processing machine be physically located in the samegeographical place. That is, each of the processors and the memoriesused by the processing machine may be located in geographically distinctlocations and connected so as to communicate in any suitable manner.Additionally, it is appreciated that each of the processor and/or thememory may be composed of different physical pieces of equipment.Accordingly, it is not necessary that the processor be one single pieceof equipment in one location and that the memory be another single pieceof equipment in another location. That is, it is contemplated that theprocessor may be two pieces of equipment in two different physicallocations. The two distinct pieces of equipment may be connected in anysuitable manner. Additionally, the memory may include two or moreportions of memory in two or more physical locations.

To explain further, processing, as described above, is performed byvarious components and various memories. However, it is appreciated thatthe processing performed by two distinct components as described abovemay, in accordance with a further embodiment of the invention, beperformed by a single component. Further, the processing performed byone distinct component as described above may be performed by twodistinct components. In a similar manner, the memory storage performedby two distinct memory portions as described above may, in accordancewith a further embodiment of the invention, be performed by a singlememory portion. Further, the memory storage performed by one distinctmemory portion as described above may be performed by two memoryportions.

Further, various technologies may be used to provide communicationbetween the various processors and/or memories, as well as to allow theprocessors and/or the memories of the invention to communicate with anyother entity; i.e., so as to obtain further instructions or to accessand use remote memory stores, for example. Such technologies used toprovide such communication might include a network, the Internet,Intranet, Extranet, LAN, an Ethernet, wireless communication via celltower or satellite, or any client server system that providescommunication, for example. Such communications technologies may use anysuitable protocol such as TCP/IP, UDP, or OSI, for example.

As described above, a set of instructions may be used in the processingof the invention. The set of instructions may be in the form of aprogram or software. The software may be in the form of system softwareor application software, for example. The software might also be in theform of a collection of separate programs, a program module within alarger program, or a portion of a program module, for example. Thesoftware used might also include modular programming in the form ofobject oriented programming. The software tells the processing machinewhat to do with the data being processed.

Further, it is appreciated that the instructions or set of instructionsused in the implementation and operation of the invention may be in asuitable form such that the processing machine may read theinstructions. For example, the instructions that form a program may bein the form of a suitable programming language, which is converted tomachine language or object code to allow the processor or processors toread the instructions. That is, written lines of programming code orsource code, in a particular programming language, are converted tomachine language using a compiler, assembler or interpreter. The machinelanguage is binary coded machine instructions that are specific to aparticular type of processing machine, i.e., to a particular type ofcomputer, for example. The computer understands the machine language.

Any suitable programming language may be used in accordance with thevarious embodiments of the invention. Illustratively, the programminglanguage used may include assembly language, Ada, APL, Basic, C, C++,COBOL, dBase, Forth, Fortran, Java, Modula-2, Pascal, Prolog, REXX,Visual Basic, Solidity, and/or JavaScript, for example. Further, it isnot necessary that a single type of instruction or single programminglanguage be utilized in conjunction with the operation of the system andmethod of the invention. Rather, any number of different programminglanguages may be utilized as is necessary and/or desirable.

Also, the instructions and/or data used in the practice of the inventionmay utilize any compression or encryption technique or algorithm, as maybe desired. An encryption module might be used to encrypt data. Further,files or other data may be decrypted using a suitable decryption module,for example.

As described above, the invention may illustratively be embodied in theform of a processing machine, including a computer or computer system,for example, that includes at least one memory. It is to be appreciatedthat the set of instructions, i.e., the software for example, thatenables the computer operating system to perform the operationsdescribed above may be contained on any of a wide variety of media ormedium, as desired. Further, the data that is processed by the set ofinstructions might also be contained on any of a wide variety of mediaor medium. That is, the particular medium, i.e., the memory in theprocessing machine, utilized to hold the set of instructions and/or thedata used in the invention may take on any of a variety of physicalforms or transmissions, for example. Illustratively, the medium may bein the form of paper, paper transparencies, a compact disk, a DVD, anintegrated circuit, a hard disk, a floppy disk, an optical disk, amagnetic tape, a RAM, a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, a wire, a cable, a fiber,a communications channel, a satellite transmission, a memory card, a SIMcard, or other remote transmission, as well as any other medium orsource of data that may be read by the processors of the invention.

Further, the memory or memories used in the processing machine thatimplements the invention may be in any of a wide variety of forms toallow the memory to hold instructions, data, or other information, as isdesired. Thus, the memory might be in the form of a database to holddata. The database might use any desired arrangement of files such as aflat file arrangement or a relational database arrangement, for example.

In the system and method of the invention, a variety of “userinterfaces” may be utilized to allow a user to interface with theprocessing machine or machines that are used to implement the invention.As used herein, a user interface includes any hardware, software, orcombination of hardware and software used by the processing machine thatallows a user to interact with the processing machine. A user interfacemay be in the form of a dialogue screen for example. A user interfacemay also include any of a mouse, touch screen, keyboard, keypad, voicereader, voice recognizer, dialogue screen, menu box, list, checkbox,toggle switch, a pushbutton or any other device that allows a user toreceive information regarding the operation of the processing machine asit processes a set of instructions and/or provides the processingmachine with information. Accordingly, the user interface is any devicethat provides communication between a user and a processing machine. Theinformation provided by the user to the processing machine through theuser interface may be in the form of a command, a selection of data, orsome other input, for example.

As discussed above, a user interface is utilized by the processingmachine that performs a set of instructions such that the processingmachine processes data for a user. The user interface is typically usedby the processing machine for interacting with a user either to conveyinformation or receive information from the user. However, it should beappreciated that in accordance with some embodiments of the system andmethod of the invention, it is not necessary that a human user actuallyinteract with a user interface used by the processing machine of theinvention. Rather, it is also contemplated that the user interface ofthe invention might interact, i.e., convey and receive information, withanother processing machine, rather than a human user. Accordingly, theother processing machine might be characterized as a user. Further, itis contemplated that a user interface utilized in the system and methodof the invention may interact partially with another processing machineor processing machines, while also interacting partially with a humanuser.

It will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art thatthe present invention is susceptible to broad utility and application.Many embodiments and adaptations of the present invention other thanthose herein described, as well as many variations, modifications andequivalent arrangements, will be apparent from or reasonably suggestedby the present invention and foregoing description thereof, withoutdeparting from the substance or scope of the invention.

Accordingly, while the present invention has been described here indetail in relation to its exemplary embodiments, it is to be understoodthat this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary of the presentinvention and is made to provide an enabling disclosure of theinvention. Accordingly, the foregoing disclosure is not intended to beconstrued or to limit the present invention or otherwise to exclude anyother such embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications orequivalent arrangements.

1. A method for tokenization, management, trading, settlement, andretirement of renewable energy attributes comprising: identifying, by acomputer program executed by an electronic device, renewable energygeneration data associated with a seller to tokenize; generating, by thecomputer program, at least one renewable energy token for the identifiedrenewable energy generation data; writing, by the computer program, therenewable energy token to a first distributed ledger; adding, by thecomputer program, the renewable energy token to a digital wallet for theseller, wherein the first distributed ledger is configured to verify therenewable energy token by determining that the renewable energy token isnot on a list of retired renewable energy tokens; in response to theverification, exchanging, by the computer program, the renewable energytoken for a cash token owned by a buyer by associating the renewableenergy token with the buyer and associating the cash token with theseller on the first distributed ledger; and retiring, by the computerprogram, the renewable energy token.
 2. The method of claim 1, whereinthe renewable energy token is generated for a fixed amount of generatedrenewable energy.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the renewable energytoken is generated for a variable amount of generated renewable energy.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the renewable energy generation datais written to a second distributed ledger.
 5. The method of claim 4,wherein the first distributed ledger and the second distributed ledgerare the same.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of retiring therenewable energy token comprises adding the renewable energy token to alist of retired renewable energy tokens, or removing the renewableenergy token from a list of active renewable energy tokens.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of retiring the renewable energytoken comprises writing the expiration of the renewable energy token tothe first distributed ledger.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the stepof exchanging the renewable energy token for a cash token owned by abuyer by associating the renewable energy token with the buyer andassociating the cash token with the seller on the first distributedledger comprises verifying that the renewable energy token and the cashtoken are valid. 9-16. (canceled)
 17. A non-transitory computer readablestorage medium, including instructions stored thereon, which when readand executed by one or more computer processors, cause the one or morecomputer processors to perform steps comprising: identifying renewableenergy generation data associated with a seller to tokenize; generatingat least one renewable energy token for the identified renewable energygeneration data; writing the renewable energy token to a firstdistributed ledger; adding the renewable energy token to a digitalwallet for the seller, wherein the first distributed ledger isconfigured to verify the renewable energy token by determining that therenewable energy token is not on a list of retired renewable energytokens; in response to the verification, exchanging the renewable energytoken for a cash token owned by a buyer by associating the renewableenergy token with the buyer and associating the cash token with theseller on the first distributed ledger; and retiring the renewableenergy token.
 18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 17, wherein the renewable energy token is generated for a variableamount of generated renewable energy.
 19. The non-transitory computerreadable storage medium of claim 17, wherein the renewable energygeneration data is written to a second distributed ledger.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein thefirst distributed ledger and the second distributed ledger are the same.21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 17,wherein the renewable energy token is retired by adding the renewableenergy token to a list of retired renewable energy tokens, or removingthe renewable energy token from a list of active renewable energytokens.
 22. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim17, the renewable energy token is exchanged for a cash token owned by abuyer by associating the renewable energy token with the buyer andassociating the cash token with the seller on the first distributedledger by verifying that the renewable energy token and the cash tokenare valid.